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Think about one of your favorite movies. Think about one of your favorite books. Is there a climax in “Star Wars”? Is there a climax in “The Usual Suspects”? Is there a climax in “Perfume”?

Apart from “Pulp Fiction” — a movie with at least 534 climaxes — good movies and novels, and even New Yorker articles, have a climax.

Climax, a rhetorical device, is based on the good-better-best structure. I’m frequently amazed that so few people exploit this dramaturgic tool.

Why would you speak first about the passion of your employees, but then conclude with a detailed exposition of the company’s IT infrastructure? Believe it or not, there are people who do.

From now on, especially in the body of your talk (the three pillars of your Speech Structure Building™), you’ll want to use a structure that includes a climax.

A = GOOD B = BETTER C = BEST

Example: on “The benefits of Barcelona”

What I really like about Barcelona is the weather. We have an average of 300 sunny days a year in Barcelona, and, considering how important sunshine is to our well-being, it’s no wonder people walk around smiling all the time.

What’s even better about the Catalan capital is its cosmopolitan lifestyle. People from all over the world come together for tapas, business, or Toastmasters meetings.

For me, the absolute best of Barcelona is the beach. Very few major cities in the world can boast a four mile long sandy beach right near the center of town. After a tough day, sitting at a beach bar at night listening to chillout music and sipping a fine Priorat by the light of flickering torches is simply priceless.

The climax structure works in the body of your speech, and smaller climaxes will work for a certain number of shorter points in your talk (within the A-B-C pillars). Always move up the ladder of excitement. Your audience will be thrilled, waiting to hear what’s even better than what came before.

Boost your content even more by building at least one climax into your speech.